Rice Thai & Asian — Restaurant in Boynton Beach

Very unfortunate that I decided to go here. Here's the short version, When I showed up it was pretty obvious that they didn't care for me. Had a miserable time I felt like I was up sold at every opportunity. Wrong food brought out and it was outrageously hot. Like the spoon was even so hot I lost the skin on my tongue. Told the guy and he laughed at me. Did not tip and will not be going back.

I'll post further context below

Long Version

They could not give me a booth because I was just one person... They did offer it after a couple minutes of me already sitting there but at that point I was fine just keeping my seat. Waited about 10 mins for the server. The gentleman didn't seem thrilled but I'll get more into that. I told him I did not want a lot of food because I was on the move. I wanted miso soup in a CUP and I asked for whatever most people got. That question was given the run around so I asked what the specials were. He went to the second and third most expensive items and said those were the best. I told him I probably just wanted pad thai so he went to the number one most expensive item and asked if I ever had a duck. Literally turned the menu in my hand. But okay, I'm down for some duck let's do it. By the way, I am in no way cheap and if it's good I'll probably order it a million more times. After getting my miso soup, in a BOWL, I burned the entirety of my mouth to the extent that the skin on my tongue is coming off. And here's the problem, the spoon itself was so hot that's what burnt my entire tongue. I don't know if they boiled the whole thing itself but I've never had soup so hot served with a spoon even hotter that it burned my mouth to the point of immediately losing my taste. I told them that I wanted to leave because my mouth was literally numb. The gentleman came over and all he said was no more right no more? Went straight to the kitchen to tell them to stop making my food. Then came back it's too hot right it's too hot? He then started laughing and said it's supposed to be served hot. I told him I'm not going to make a scene but he needs to stop laughing. Now, here's the fun part after around 2 minutes of stirring it and waiting for about 7 or 8 mins it was still steaming hot. How hot do you think it was when they served it if after all that it's still steaming? And did they cook it with the damn spoon in it? Unreal. Clearly, all he wanted was to charge me as much as possible and get rid of me so I happily obliged.

More context

I'm a big supporter of service workers and tipping substantially (15 to 20% for average or below. Usually 30% plus for above average / a good experience) but they got $0 from me. Well, besides the water and sprite I paid for. Let me go through the terrible experience. Now, I didn't dress the best so I'm assuming I was judged off such. I had a long day working outside helping a buddy and my sister's in the hospital so i wanted a quick bite before dealing with what I had...

Well.... my wife and I have visited this place maybe 10 - 12 times over the last few years. My wife has taken her friends there several times more.

I have never been very fond of this restaurant. The food is 'okay'.. but everything seems to be watered down. The soups.. and especially the curry dishes. (And I LOVE curry)! The portions are a bit on the small size, especially given the thin consistency. There are so many good Thai restaurants around that give a full-flavored and full-bodied curry where you end up having to take some home... and at similar price points.

But I kept going because my wife liked it enough to keep going back. That was until... the last visit. Our experience was such that SHE asked me to write this review.

My wife is Asian and we had an Asian friend visiting up recently and at my wife's suggestion (or was that insistence?) we ended up at Rice Thai once (yet) again.

We wanted our guest to have a taste of the Tom Kha Gai soup and asked for an additional spoon. It was as if we asked for a free meal. There was so much resistance to the idea and we could not understand why. Finally, our guest said something to the effect of "Can we please just get a spoon?!" And they relented.

When the main courses were set on the table the owner walked by and our guest asked for a sauce on the side to eat with her rice. The owner straight up told her that it would not be good, that she would not like it. Our friend insisted that YES... she does like the combination and once again this request turned into this 'tug of war' from the owner.

He was adamant about being 'right' so much so that our friend was visibly getting upset. All three of us was like.... "Could you just bring the sauce"!? And guess what? She enjoyed the taste combination... but none of us enjoyed the demeaning arrogance of this owner. Up to that point we had enjoyed a nice, fun-filled day and to end it like that was just unnecessary!

So.... we won't be back. I know it has to be challenging to run a small business in this economy, I get that... (Hence the thinned dishes)... but I can not in good conscious stand by without giving honest feedback for the owner. Competition is stiff... and your customers are the 'guests'... and should be treated with some basic level of respect.

EDIT** No. The person I interacted with was NOT a server. He is either the owner... or at least the manager. He runs the place. It does you no good to refuse to take responsibility for your...

Went to Rice in Boynton last night and it was superb! Located in the same plaza as Pho V.N. Right off of Congress Ave, this hidden Thai gem hits all the marks. We were pleasantly surprised to see this place still super busy on a light Sunday Night and service was very attentive and on top of everything. For food we started off with the Kanom Jeeb these light pillowy steamed dumplings filled with Shrimp & Chicken, the soups were sublime my parents opted for the traditional Tom Kha soup while I had the King of the Sea Soup. Best way to describe it is as an amped up Tom Kha coconut broth with a little chili and the most tender Shrimp, Calamari, Mussels and Bay Scallops. One of the best seafood soups I’ve had in a while. For the entrees my parents had the Pad Thai which I’ve always stayed away from because most places over sweeten it, this one however I’d go back for a plate of. It was less heavy than others and the noodles were amazing. I had the Pad See Ew pictured below with wide rice noodles which are nicely charred in the wok, broccoli and shrimp! I’ve been dying to try this dish since I saw it on one of those interweb food vlogs and it didn’t disappoint. The char on the noodles adds not only texture but a complexity in flavor that balances the 2 different kinds of soy sauce used in the dish and the shrimp and broccoli lightened up the dish so it wasn’t heavy at all. If I hadn’t had a soup and appetizer I would’ve probably ordered a second plate! It’s clear why they’re so busy, the food says it all!

I over heard they take reservations as well for anyone interested! Give it a try if you...